The Central Bank of Nigeria has said that it will resume sales of foreign exchange to operators of Bureau de Change (BDCs) from Monday, September 7, 2020.
According to a statement from the apex bank on Wednesday, the decision to inject liquidity into the FOREX market is crucial to boosting the naira against the dollar.
It added that the sale will be gradual and done twice a week while stressing that the interventions made in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window will plunge market speculators into losses following their failure to heed to warning signs from the CBN.
Speaking on the issue, the Director, Corporate Communications Department at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, said the sale will be done “twice a week – Mondays and Wednesdays, hence the BDCs had been directed to ensure that their accounts with their banks are adequately funded to ensure seamless transactions.”
While warning speculators to desist from what he termed unpatriotic tendencies, Okorafor urged registered BDCs to comply with the CBN guidelines as the Bank would not hesitate in sanctioning any erring dealer.
He also assured that those requiring foreign exchange for purposes of travel, educational fees, and other Invisibles could obtain such over the counter from their respective banks.
The naira began to rebound against the dollar, exchanging for N420 to a dollar in the BDC segment of the market on Wednesday, after trading for as high as N480 to the dollar on Monday in the I&E window, prompting fears that the Naira was in a free fall.
The President of the Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadabe has expressed support for the CBN action, noting that the anticipated intervention in the BDC sector would ensure stability in the foreign exchange market.
According to him, speculators in the forex market have been dealt a huge blow with the sharp drop in the exchange rate, which he said would continue a downward trend with the resumption of international flights in and out of the country.
The apex bank had in March this year, suspended the sales of foreign currency to Bureau De Change operators (BDCs) in the country, for two weeks, following a request by the BDC for the CBN to grant them a two-week holiday as a measure to control the spread of the Coronavirus outbreak.